War of Souls
by Artificer Urza
Summary: The War of Souls; a war of conquest, to bring peace and order to a chaotic and divided land. But, is this what the people want? Is what the world needs? an original story.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Breath of Fire is the property of Capcom. Characters in this story are my creations and thus belong to me, with the following exceptions: Zypher belongs to the author Zypher-Evans and Keith belongs to Keith. These characters are fictional; any resemblance between persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any and all comments shall be answered in the review board of this story. Enjoy!  
  
Prologue  
  
In the beginning there was Ladon, the All-Father. By His will there was light in the darkness of the void; His flesh made the earth, His tears made the waters and His breath became the wind and the air. His blood flowed beneath the land spreading life and vegetation and his creation was made... But not complete.  
  
To finish His beloved creation he created the animals and what are termed 'monsters', but that still did not complete his world. Were He to truly 'finish' his creation, He knew that He would be forfeiting His right to meddle in his creation. To create sentient beings, to 'finish' His creation would lock Him away from his world. Even the mightiest of gods are not above the laws of Order and Chaos.  
  
Then a solution came to Him: leave a part of His essence in the world so that He might retain some influence, a foothold in his creation. And so, He took a piece of his essence and forged it into a gem, a gene known as Infinity. Whoever merged with this gene, as long as they were of the dragon clan, would become Ladon's Avatar.  
  
Deciding that any mortal should not use such power until they were ready, Ladon split the gem in two: Agni, the 'Body of Ladon' and Anfini, the 'Power of Ladon'. He then Created to keepers, guardians of these two pieces, who would hold them until the time had come to give them to the Chosen of Ladon. These were Ladon's two daughters: Myria Tyr, the Goddess of Desire and Deis Bleu, the Goddess of Wisdom. To Myria he gave Anfini and to Deis he gave Agni.  
  
At last he began the final touches to his creation. First he gave life to the Dragon Clan made in his own image, with the power to become dragons. They would be split into two groups: The Light Dragon Clan and the Dark Dragon Clan.  
  
Next came the Clan of the Wind or the bird people of Winlan. They had the power to become large birds and were noticeable by the wings that grew from their backs. Their collective desire gave life to their guardian deity or god: Suzaku, a humanoid with talon feet, bird wings and the head of a phoenix.  
  
Then came the feline Woren clan and the Lupine Forest clan. The Woren clan having the appearance of human-Feline hybrids, mostly tigers and lions, though there were a few leopard-human and panther-human hybrids. The forest clan, a lupine clan where fox-human or dog-human hybrids and mostly lived in the forest. Both clans had a tightly knit social group, where one clansman was never without his or her fellow clansmen. They both had the guardian deity of Kihlrah, the Lord of the Hunt. A humanoid sporting features of both clans, such as a red furred body, a large mane that ran down his back, and a visage that combined both lupine and feline features.  
  
The fish clan and the frog clan came next their names pretty much explaining their abilities. The fish clan became remarkable merchants and spread their business throughout the lands beneath the oceans and above them; the frog clan were poets, artists, and singers and had quite a laid back disposition. They worshipped Shrimp, though he was much larger than his name implied. A simple soul with an eye for money and art, Shrimp was.  
  
Then came the Ox Clan, the Plains Clan and the Mole Clan. The Ox clan was a clan of brilliant, ox-man engineers, creating marvels of machinery and smithing. The Plains clan was a clan of calm armadillo-men, farmers who lived peaceably. The Mole Clan a clan of diggers, preferring the relative safety of the underground and its boundless secrets. The three clans worshipped Volnain, a combination of all three clans taking their best qualities: the size and brute strength of the Ox Clan, the armored shell and endurance of the Plains Clan and the digging claws of the Mole Clan. His face was a mixture of these three races.  
  
Then came the Nameless Clan, those whom none have seen their face. Hiding in the shadows under black robes, they rarely interacted with outsiders and kept to themselves. They are noted and recognized for their peerless skills in necromancy and technomancy, that is, death magic and unequaled technological skills. They worshipped the Lord of Death, the Un-living, Decay and Corruption, Morgion a figure who was wrapped in bandages and dressed in tattered, though rich rags, of whom only his eyes and the decaying flesh around those flaming green eyes can be seen.  
  
The world itself manifested its will, its spirit into a shape, a clan. That clan was the Grass Clan, a plant people who protected the land and the forest. The will of the planet became Yggdrasil the Tree of Life.  
  
The Highlanders came, monkey-men with long arms, they worshipped no gods and sold their military skills to the highest bidder. Living the life of mercenaries and taking in money so that they could protect themselves with expensive devices.  
  
The last were the Clanless, the humans, whom had no special power and were mocked by the other clans. Fearing persecution they turned to Myria and Deis begging for their help.  
  
The elemental energies left over from the forging of the world and its peoples wove itself into the elemental gods who protected their elements. They gave power unto the mortals who would study their power; they were the gods of magic. Volcanos or HwoShin the Lord of Fire; Namanda or ToShin, the Keeper of the Earth; Likimia or SheiShin the Lady of the Water; and Neoga or FunShin, the Mistress of the Winds.  
  
The people, the land could grow, adapt, evolve and had their own freewill. This is what Ladon desired for His creation, but there were those of His children who did not share His vision. His daughter, Myria Tyr, looked at the world and saw chaos, destruction and disorder. She felt that her father was wrong in making such separate and violent beings; she believed it was her place to correct His mistake. And thus she embarked on a war of conquest, to unite all the peoples under her, bringing them into a perfect world of order and tranquility. She had the humans as her own personal worshippers and soldiers, she acquired the allegiance of a few of the gods and, for a time, Deis Bleu sided with her, but she did no go unchallenged; the remaining gods came together under Yggdrasil to fight her and so the world was at war and Ladon wept for His children.  
  
And so it was war... History called it the All-Saints War, but those who lived and loved and fought and died during those times called it the War of Souls. 


	2. Dragon Born

Chapter 1: Dragon Born  
  
Myria wanted all to live in peace, a world free from strife; this desire seemed to have nothing malevolent in it and so she gathered followers. Volnain and Morgion sided with her; Volnain desired peace, but what Morgion desired was anyone's guess. Those who advocated free will and the mortal's right to live their lives as they chose were led by Suzaku the god of the bird people, at his side were the gods Kihlrah and Shrimp. Yggdrasil and his Grass Clan remained out of the fighting and the elemental gods took neither side lending their powers to both depending on their fancy at the time. For a time the goddess Deis sided with her sister, but eventually the two came up against something that split them apart: the Dragon Clan.  
  
The war had dragged on for centuries, there were intervals of breaks in the fighting, but there never was peace. The natures of the some Clans changed, their forms altering to fight the war. The Dragon Clan suffered the greatest change and some might say the greatest tragedy as well. As Myria began to focus her efforts on the Dragons, Deis broke away from her sister, taking away her half of the Infinity gem. The Dragons met her threat by developing half of their forces for offence and the other half for defence thus was the Dark Dragon Clan and the Light Dragon Clan created. However, the two opposing ideals of the now split clan began to clash: those of the Dark Dragon Clan were natural born fighters, peerless combatants, but these skills made them naturally aggressive; they demanded that the assault on Myria's forces be increased after the enemy had been repulsed. The Light Dragon Clan, healers, defenders, had a more pacifist view and said that they should only defend themselves. A once strong bond between the two peoples degraded and the day came when a Dark Dragon and a Light Dragon, one year apart in age, were born to the royal family. The Dark Dragon grew and gathered his followers and eventually left with them, against his father's wishes, to create a city for the Dark Dragons alone. And so, the population of the Dragon City of Lon Chai was cut almost in half.  
  
The city of Lon Chai, hidden in the mountains, sitting on a plateau surrounded by a river that fed the Central Sea. Its ivory spires and watchtowers kept the city alerted to invaders; the population of ten thousand could sleep in peace. The temperatures and weather were always of great advantage to the farmers, the temperatures comfortable enough for short robes and yukata (1), those men and women that did not tend to farms tended to gardens or bartered for goods and services or simply spent their time gossiping. The peaceful life of a Light Dragon Clansman: Lon Chai was so secluded that no army of great size could ever attack, making that sort of passive life possible. However, there were those of the Dark Dragon Clan who, feeling responsible for their fellow Clansmen remained behind as the standing army of the city.  
  
Liem Dragnis, the leader of the Samurai, the Elite Guard of the army, which made him second only to the King in terms of military command, walked the streets. He was headed for the advanced watchtower. Something had been spotted on the horizon and in times of war even the smallest thing could not be overlooked; one thing was certain though, it was no flock of birds. He was dressed in full armour and the sun gleamed off the golden designs of his armour. His sandals were noiseless on the stone street, only the scabbard of his katana rattled as he walked. The people waved at him and called out to him in greeting, some of the younger women stared at him and sighed as he passed; he was very attractive and strong, an accomplished warrior and the subject of many youthful fantasies. He had short black hair and a beard, well groomed, and he had a constant grim expression; he was a man of the military, a soldier first. A soldier greeted him at the base of the tower.  
  
"What news?" Liem asked.  
  
"Unidentified objects flying on the horizon, sir!"  
  
"Show me."  
  
The army was always in either training, resting or on guard duty, Liem made sure of it. There were at least five guards at each tower and at the moment all of them were watching the approaching spot on the horizon. At the top, one of the soldiers handed over a portable telescope to Liem, so that he might glimpse at this potential enemy. Through the telescope he saw the approaching targets.  
  
"There are five of them." Liem whispered.  
  
"They should be within sight soon, commander." One soldier said.  
  
That was when Liem saw the lead flyer. It had a rectangular snout with two large nostrils and a black mane of hair. Two horns sprouted from its head and two tendrils flowed from beneath its nostrils, giving the impression of a long thin moustache. It had along serpentine body and, judging from the size of its head, the body must have been at least a mile long. It was a Sky Dragon (2), a creature that was honoured and revered by all of the Dragon Clan, ridden by Dragon Clan royalty the way lesser men would ride horses; it was a creature on the brink of extinction and this one that flew now may have been the last of its kind. Four other smaller dragons, with riders, flanked the Sky Dragon. These were Dragon Riders of the Dark Dragon Clan, the dragons were those who had been born as dragons and they had never, nor would they ever, walk the soil in human form: they had been paired from birth with one of the Clan who would ride them in battle. This bond formed from birth elicited a nigh unbreakable trust between dragon and rider making them a fearsome pair in battle.  
  
Liem lowered the telescope and handed it back to the soldier next to him.  
  
"Stand down the alert and signal them they can land on the main platform." He instructed the soldiers. "Call the samurai and instruct them to prepare an honour guard and have them meet me at the landing platform."  
  
"Yes sir!" The soldiers replied as they stood at attention and saluted.  
  
Liem left the tower and began to walk towards the main landing platform. It was large to accommodate large flyers or important visitors; the easiest way to travel to Lon Chai was, of course, by flying there. It was a circular, stone platform at the edge of the city, overlooking the river and the falls in the distance. The stone had been carved so that it looked like the platform was held on the back of a single large dragon and the perimeter of the platform had smaller stone dragons, similar in design to the dragon statues one could find in the shrines dedicated to Ladon.  
  
Twenty of the samurai joined Liem at the platform. They were fully armoured, complete with helmets and masks and they carried naginata, a spear that has a blade at the end of the pole. They formed two columns behind Liem and waited. The Sky Dragon flew through the air the same way an eel or serpent would swim through water, its graceful, flowing movements, its great black scales and dark-grey mane and huge size evoked awe and fear from anyone who gazed upon it. It took a very strong-willed person to approach the beast let alone ride it. Liem and his soldiers didn't flinch or even move as the dragons approached, they were trained soldiers after all. The dragons that followed the Sky Dragon had to beat their wings quickly to simply keep up with the behemoth; Liem knew they would need to be tended to before they left.  
  
The Sky Dragon hovered above them and began a spiralling descent towards the platform. As it came close to the platform its body coiled around itself as it slowed down. Liem had seen such a beast once before and had always wondered how it could slow down such a descent since it didn't have wings. Its head lowered to the ground and its rider eased himself to the ground. It was a man of youthful appearance, perhaps in his mid to late twenties. He wore black full-plate armour with gold trim, his head was uncovered revealing his pale skin and long blue hair; his hair was of such a dark shade that it could be mistaken for black. His face was quite handsome, but the hard gaze and demeanour could only be described as cold. The remaining dragons landed around the behemoth, but only one rider dismounted; it appeared to be a robed man, a sorcerer or perhaps a priest of the Dark Dragon Clan.  
  
"I thank you for your aid, O revered one. I ask that you please come again when I have need of your strength." The dark armoured one said.  
  
The Sky Dragon growled and flew into the sky, uncoiling as it did so.  
  
"Scout the area until I give your new orders." He said to the remaining dragon riders. "Report any abnormalities."  
  
The four dragons nodded and took to the sky, each headed in a different direction. The dark armoured man, followed by the robed man turned to Lime and his cohorts.  
  
"Take positions!" Liem commanded.  
  
The columns distanced themselves from each other and marched forward in unison. When each column had reached their designated positions, that is, the area between the dark armoured one and Liem, they turned in unison and face each other. Two men, walking side by side could easily walk trough the area that separated the two columns.  
  
"Present arms!"  
  
Each man took hold of their naginata with both hands and held it before them.  
  
"Salute!"  
  
They dipped their weapons so that their blades and those of the ones they faced touched, clanging as they did so. It formed an archway under which the dark armoured one and his follower passed. Liem put a hand to his heart and bowed as the man walked up to him.  
  
"Prince Marduk (3)... It is an honour. I did not expect to see you in this city again, my lord." Liem said.  
  
Marduk smiled slightly at the term prince; he was a ruler, a king in his own right and he would always be called prince as dictated by tradition.  
  
"I have urgent matters to discuss with the king. Take me to him immediately." Marduk commanded.  
  
"The king has a lot on his mind... But I will do as you ask." Liem bowed.  
  
The two turned and Liem led the way. The robed man followed and the twenty soldiers stopped their salute and fell in behind Liem and Marduk, marching side by side.  
  
In the shrine closest to the castle, a man paced restlessly back and forth. His name was Marutukku, called Maru, and he was the king of the Dragon Clan. He had light blue hair and wore a royal yukata; he was young, in his mid-twenties. As a king he tended towards the informal and was well liked by the populace. His wife, the queen, was now in labour about to give birth to their first-born. According to tradition only midwives and apprentices, if they had apprentices, were allowed to be in the room with the mother at the time of the birthing. As an expecting father he was concerned about his wife, but he could not be there for her, so he paced back and forth in the empty shrine.  
  
"Zenny for your thoughts, O king?" A voice from a pew said.  
  
Maru turned and saw an old man sitting on the bench. He was bald and had a long white beard, wore a long brown robe and carried a staff. The king recognized him as an old scholar, a priest of sorts who went by the name Bishop. The old one motioned for the monarch to sit beside him. Maru, having nothing better to do, took a seat beside the older, presumably wiser man and waited for him to say something.  
  
"You're worried about her." The older man stated.  
  
The statement was so obvious as to be laughable and Maru did so; he'd needed something to relieve his tension.  
  
"Yes... yes I am." He said, his face taking on a more sombre cast.  
  
"Then why are you not with her?"  
  
"Isn't there some church rule that says only the midwife is allowed with her?"  
  
"None that I am aware of and I know all the rules of religious decorum and etiquette."  
  
"Then why..."  
  
"Many centuries ago," Bishop began sagely. "A queen was giving birth and did not wish her husband to see... terribly embarrassing to be seen in such a position, you understand. So, she sent him away. When he demanded she explain herself, they were terribly unfriendly, a marriage of convenience... where was I? Oh yes, she had cited some obscure religious law. It was so obscure that no one bothered to check its validity and so it became tradition. Rather silly if you think about it."  
  
"So there's no reason for me not to go?" Maru asked, incredulous.  
  
"Even if there were such a law, you're the king; change it. Your people love you and your wife, you are a fair and just ruler and there is nothing you have yet done that the people have not approved of. There was the split of the clan... but that was under your father's rule." He mused with a knowledgeable smile. "If you so chose, you could change the laws, religious or otherwise and the people would support it... as long as you were being reasonable, of course. Now why are you still here? Go to her."  
  
Maru smiled at the feeble, though valiant effort Bishop put into attempting to push him away. The king rose and bowed to the older man out of respect before he left the shrine. When he exited the shrine, he saw an interesting parade: his lord general, Liem Dragnis, was escorting, along with twenty other samurai, Marduk, the lord of the Dark Dragon Clan and a robed mage/priest. The small parade came up to the shrine and stopped. Marduk walked the path to the shrine and stood before the king.  
  
"Hello, brother." Marduk greeted in a monotone voice.  
  
"Brother." Maru said; his tone was quite flat as well.  
  
The most striking thing about these two was not the differences between them, but the similarities: Both stood at the same height and so saw each other eye-to-eye. Both had similar facial features, marking them as family. They wielded positions of power, were loved and respected by their peoples and they exuded an aura of absolute confidence and authority. Their differences were really only skin deep; while Marduk had a military bearing and a grim expression and a clean-shaven face, Maru seemed more relaxed, showing weariness and he had a bit of stubble about his face. They were also a year apart in age, Marduk being the older and Maru being the younger. It was the hardness in their eyes that truly marked them as from the same family, a determination and gaze that was unmistakably identical.  
  
"My condolences for the loss of your wife." Maru began. "I hope Zypher is faring well?"  
  
"My daughter is well... you need not concern yourself over our welfare." Marduk maintained a serious expression and tone. "And Rose? How does she fare?"  
  
"My wife is in labour, currently and I was just about to check up on her, if you'll please follow me." Maru motioned as he began to walk towards the castle.  
  
"You... break tradition? Father must be rolling in his grave right now." Marduk said, neither his expression nor tone changing, though one could still tell he was amused at the possibility.  
  
"'Tradition is merely a word used by those who want to justify the status quo. It doesn't mean we should stop looking for new and better ways to do things.'" Maru quoted.  
  
"Well, it appears father was right: I was a bad influence on you."  
  
"Just because I quoted what you said before you left once." Maru laughed.  
  
They passed through the city, walking past homes and people. Men, who weren't working, stopped their games of dice and conversation, stood and bowed to the King and his brother, women stopped tending to their gardens, speaking to their friends and neighbours and bowed to the passing group and a group of children stopped playing with their friends, one of which was in dragon whelp form, and bowed towards the sibling monarchs. The entered the castle and headed for the Rookery, a room where royal births would take place. The honour guard dispersed after they entered the castle grounds, as their duty had been completed; they returned to their posts. According to historical records, the Rookery was where Dragon Clan children had been born long before the royals had been established and so it continued to be used as the birthplace of the nobles as it had once been the birthplace of the whole clan.  
  
They stood before immense doors with draconic designs on them; this was the entrance to the Rookery. A young woman, no older than sixteen stood before the door. It was the mid-wife's apprentice and it appeared that the mid- wife desired no one to disturb her sa she worked, taking the old tradition a step further. The girl seemed surprised at the King's arrival and became quite nervous; after all, how was she, a peasant to tell the king to go away?  
  
"M-my l-l-lord, y-you can't g-go in th-there." She stammered.  
  
"Its alright." Maru said, smiling at the girl. "You've done your duty, I'll full responsibility for this."  
  
The girl stepped aside and the king opened the doors. She blushed slightly as Liem glanced at her; she was one of his admirers, but she had never seen the samurai this close before. The Rookery was more of a huge cavern than an actual room, stalactites and stalagmites grew and water dripped from the roof and there was a pool of water off in one corner. The mid-wife, a grizzled and experienced old woman placed a dragon's egg on a pedestal- shaped stalagmite. A large adult dragon lay in the corner of the Rookery, this was Rose in dragon from. According to tradition, a pregnant woman transforms into their dragon form for the duration of the pregnancy; this supposedly increases a dragons transformation powers to be born in dragon form, but it had never been confirmed. It was a practice that had been dropped by the peasantry but still kept by the nobility. Though she was now nobility, Rose could be said to be the first peasant to have given birth this way in ages, as she had been born of the peasantry. Maru was going to go see his wife, who was now beginning to shift back to her human form, but the mid-wife blocked his way.  
  
"Why are you here? You are not allowed to be here." She stated imperiously.  
  
"There is no reason I should not be with Rose and a thousand reasons why I should." Maru stated in all calmness.  
  
"There are religious laws..." She began.  
  
"No, there aren't and even if there were I would change them; I am the king, you know."  
  
The mid-wife fumed, but handed Maru Rose's kimono and the king went over to his wife, covering her naked and now human body with the robe.  
  
"How are you feeling, beloved?" He asked her, smiling down at her.  
  
She had red hair and blue eyes; she had been kind and caring to everyone, no matter their station, when she had become queen and was beloved by all. They all said her name, Rose, was an indication of her peerless beauty, but it never did her actual beauty justice. She lay back tired and smiled up at her husband.  
  
The mid-wife glared at Marduk, his mage/priest companion and Liem, all of whom stood at the entrance. None of them, however, were going to be cowed by this simple old woman, so they didn't move.  
  
"It appears my business will have to wait." Marduk said.  
  
Marduk stayed in the palace, ruling Maru's stead while the king spent time with his wife. Marduk began by overseeing the army, increasing their training regimen and the number of patrols outside the city. When asked about his own kingdom, he said the mage would tell him if something was wrong. He informed Maru of Shax (4), the leader of Myria's armies, who had set his sights on this city and may be making a visit soon. He told the king it was a trap to gauge the standing forces of this city and that there wouldn't really be any serious peace talks. Maru said that he would give any peace talks a chance, that fighting was not what a Light Dragon did and that violence must be the last resort. Marduk did not argue, calling Maru a fool, but he did not dispute the king's actions.  
  
Weeks after it was laid, the egg hatched and the inhabitant caused something of a stir: for the he was not in dragon form, but a human infant hatched from the egg. This was strange, for the child should have hatched as a dragon, not a human, stranger still was the dragon birthmark on his forehead. After doctors and clerics had examined the child, pronouncing him healthy, neither Rose nor Maru concerned themselves with the oddities of their son's hatching. They named him Ryu, after the first ruler of the Dragon Clan, Ryujin (5).  
  
Once the child hatched, Maru took to his throne once more and Marduk left the city. As he was leaving he made an offer to Liem, to join him in his city of Scande, the fortress of which would soon be complete. Liem declined stating that he was captain of the samurai, that he would be remiss in his duty to the Dragon Clan if he were to abandon his post. He swore fealty to Maru and this was where he would stay until ordered otherwise. Marduk bade farewell to his brother and the city that was once his home as he flew away on the back of the Sky Dragon accompanied by his dragon rider escort.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"O to be a dragon... of silkworm size or immense..." –Marianne Moore, "O to Be a Dragon"  
  
*Music: 'Whispering Prayers' (Site: ocremix, game: Secrete of Mana)  
  
*Music is only meant to enhance chapter reading experience.  
  
(1)-I felt that the dragon clan setting was more like feudal era Japanese  
than anything else, which is why I used some of the terms I did.  
  
(2)-Sky Dragon is of an Asian dragon design and not western style.  
  
(3)-Marduk is a Mesopotamian god; he was the one to defeat Tiamat. One  
of his fifty alternate names was Marutukku, Master of the arts of  
Protection.  
  
(4)-For those of you who have read my story 'Requiem of Souls' you'll  
know who Shax is, except this story takes place long before that story  
and thus he is a different man in this time.  
  
(5)-Ryujin is the name of the Japanese dragon god of the sea. 


	3. War's Mercy

Chapter 2: Mercy of War  
  
The greatest defensive advantage of the Light Dragon Clan was the geography in which the city of Lon Chai lay. High upon a plateau, surrounded by an eternally flowing river there was the city, unassailable by any large attacking forces and any such forces that were adequate to enter the city from the ground would be far to small to stand against the samurai and standing army of the city. Of course there were other ways to attack a city besides sheer force of arms and in times of battle, something as simple as a change of weather could make all the difference.  
  
A great and heavy fog rolled into the area surrounding the city, something very much unheard of. The interior of the city remained unchanged, as the fog did not even pass over the water of the river surrounding the city. However, since the fog decreased visibility around the city Liem grew worried that Myria's followers would take the opportunity of this strange weather to attack; he entertained the belief that Myria caused the unheard of weather. He doubled the guard at the towers and put the whole army on high alert. Three flyers emerged from the mist under a white flag, signalling a desire to speak. Under a great degree of caution, Liem allowed the flyers to land upon the main landing platform, the largest and furthest one from the city. Liem, accompanied by his best samurai, went to meet these mysterious diplomats.  
  
The flyers were griffins, half lion, half bird, tamed beasts become mounts for the aerial troops of the human army; no other clan used these great majestic beasts as mounts. The lead griffin had a single rider, but the other two carried two riders each: four human knights (1) and one apparent warlord. The warlord, the leader, was a tall and powerful looking man who wore a black-metal vest of plate armour, emblazoned with the Goddess' emblem. Black trousers, black greaves, black gauntlets and a flowing black cloak emblazoned with the Goddess' symbol completed his ensemble, his heavily muscled arms were bear and he bore no weapon, though he appeared to be a weapon in and of himself. He was shaved bald, except for a long tail of braded hair at the base of his skull, he had a goatee and dark eyes. He wore an arrogant expression, as though Liem and the Dragon Clan were beneath his notice.  
  
"I am General Shax of the great Myria's forces. I wish to speak to your leader." The human demanded with a commanding and powerful voice, using common (2).  
  
"The general of the enemy army comes and demands an audience with our king? You presume too much human." Liem said calmly.  
  
"It is in the interest of you Clan that I come to speak with your leader. I have no time to waste with a simple gate guard." Shax retorted.  
  
The samurai behind Liem bristled at the insult and their grip tightened upon their weapons. A simple and almost imperceptible motion from Liem stopped them from taking rash action.  
  
"And what would the Goddess' puppet have to say to our king?" Liem asked.  
  
"I wish to discuss a proposition of peace to benefit both our peoples." Shax replied with an almost sneering smile.  
  
Liem said nothing, turned and motioned for Shax and his men to follow him. The knights were relieved of their weapons, being a time of war doing otherwise would have been foolish. The samurai surrounded Shax and his men as they walked through the city; it was more to protect the citizens from Shax than the other way around, as the Light Dragons were pacifist. The army and samurai guard were the only Dark Dragon Clansmen in the city, far fewer than the total number of people in the city. Of course, they were still formidable opponents and their honour and charge was protecting the people of the city.  
  
Shax and his knights walked through the city streets escorted by Liem and his samurai. The people looked at them, some in curiosity others in fear, and many went into their homes. They may have lived in an isolated region, but knowledge of the world was still something the people kept up on. A dragon whelp was growling and hissing at Shax as they passed by, a woman picked it up and hurried inside her house.  
  
"Don't you savages keep your pets on leashes?" Shax sneered.  
  
Liem's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. They continued to walk further into the city and Shax seemed to take in every detail, noting buildings and people. Liem escorted them to the palace and told them to wait in the main hall; several of the samurai remained to keep an eye on them. Liem walked through the palace halls; the king would still be in his room with the queen and his son at this hour, he had completed many of the day's tasks already. Liem knocked on the decorated doors that marked the entrance to the king's chambers and they swung open. The king was sitting beside his wife as she nursed Ryu, but they were not alone: apparently the midwife wanted little to do with the king and so sent her apprentice in her stead. The teen saw Liem and blushed slightly, turning away as she was shy in the face of one she so admired. Liem, however, had no time to concern himself with a shy child as he had important business with the king.  
  
"Liem... What is the matter?" Maru asked.  
  
"My lord, an emissary from Myria's forces has arrived to discuss peace." Liem stated.  
  
Maru raised an eyebrow and stood up. He motioned for the midwife's apprentice to aid him as he dressed in a more regal yukata and placed a diadem upon his brow.  
  
"Who is the esteemed diplomat?" The king asked.  
  
"It is Shax, the general of the human division of Myria's forces. He is the leader of her entire army I believe."  
  
Maru merely smiled as they exited the room and went to meet these envoys of Myria. They entered the main hall and Shax and Maru looked at each other, sizing each other up.  
  
"To what do I owe the honour, o General?" Maru began, in common.  
  
"We have come to discuss peace with you, you majesty." Shax said; the way he said 'majesty' was like an insult.  
  
"Shall we go someplace more appropriate for such discussion?"  
  
"I don't believe that will be necessary, since we are only giving you terms for surrender." Shax smirked malevolently.  
  
"What?" Liem said, shocked, laying a hand on the hilt of his katana.  
  
Maru motioned for Liem to make no moves; he didn't seem overly worried by Shax's bold statement.  
  
"And what makes you so certain that we will surrender under any terms? We have repelled your forces for countless years." The king said.  
  
"We have great force of numbers and power, as well the Goddess lends us strength. Quite simply, you and your people don't stand a chance. It would be much simpler and far les bloody if you were to surrender, don't you agree?"  
  
"I agree only in that bloodshed should be avoided." Maru responded with a patronizing smile. "For the sake of diplomacy, what are the terms you are offering?"  
  
"You are to disarm your army, all shrines to other gods are to be destroyed, the monarchy will be abolished and you will be placed under the jurisdiction and rule of one of Myria's chosen."  
  
"You'll forgive me if I seem less than enthusiastic at your terms. I'm not sure our people would agree with the destruction of Ladon's temples, we have many who are very faithful to Ladon. This is the people's decision, you'll have to return in a few days, so I may have an answer by then. Liem, have these men escorted to their mounts, I have to speak with you a moment."  
  
Liem had some of the samurai guard escort and he turned to the king, ready to receive his orders.  
  
"He's going to attack us." The king stated. "He has found some power or way to get an army up into the city, otherwise he wouldn't be doing reconnaissance in the guise of 'peace' talks."  
  
"Then he wont wait for your answer. I'll begin to have the citizens move into the catacombs beneath the city." Liem said.  
  
"No... no, have them ready to evacuate the city. If Shax has some power to destroy the city, then it is best we get our people to safety and the catacombs have no exits, they would be trapped. Of course, our army does have one element of surprise."  
  
"My lord?"  
  
"My brother thinks me ignorant of the world outside, of Myria's lapdog Shax. But I have been informed of him and he knows nothing of the Dragon Clan other than that Myria wants us all dead. Our Clan's powers are almost completely unknown to other Clans. We can use that to our advantage. I've already seen how he treated the dragon whelp, one of our children. Those who can transform will fly right by their forces."  
  
Shax and his knight escort had reached the platform where their griffins awaited them. The noble beasts appeared nervous, anxious to be away from the city that held the likenesses of their greatest enemy, the dragon. Shax graced the city with one last condescending sneer before they flew into the sky and into the fog.  
  
Within a pocket of the fog Shax's griffin mounted army waited for him. As Maru had surmised, Shax was not going to wait for any reply from the king, however, the Dragon Clan had far less time than he thought. Thousands of soldiers upon griffin-back, but that alone would never be enough to take the dragons' city; there were also floating platforms of bone, sinew, chrysm and cloth: those were Morgion's magi, called Necromancers. They controlled the fog, but that was merely for cover, their true power would be for the battle to come.  
  
"My Lord, do we strike?" One lieutenant asked.  
  
"They are not warriors, these barbarians. We shall crush them easily. Prepare the first assault!" Shax ordered.  
  
The necromancers that controlled the fog ceased their chanting and the fog began to dissipate. Many of the necromancers stood and raising their staves and chanting, the crystal tips of their staves began to glow. With their staves they drew the characters for Hakai (destruction), burning, glowing red lines in the air marking the passage of the staves. From the glowing symbol beams of light rained down upon the city, the first struck one of the guard towers causing that part to explode in fire and stone. The structural integrity of the tower compromised, the tower fell. More beams of light and fire raked across the city, causing explosions and fire to erupt in the city. Shax watched the destruction and fire, sadistic gleam in his eye.  
  
"Prepare for the second assault!" He ordered.  
  
One necromancer, with shoulder armour made of skulls and a staff made of bones, stood and raised his staff.  
  
"Wake o fallen seed, rise o violent spirits. Heed thy eternal desire and wreak violence upon the world and she the blood of mine enemies for they are now thine. Rise o spirit and bind thyself in the black metal, raise thy new swords and cut a swath of destruction and death through the soft flesh and slake thy thirst for battle." The lord necromancer chanted.  
  
Below in the city, people ran, panicked, trying to escape, to evacuate the city. Soldiers and samurai dashed all over the place saving those they could, trying to clear paths. One such trio of citizens ran through the city, buildings burning and crumbling around them. A beam of light raked through one of the towers around them and it began to collapse from the point where it was struck. It halted suddenly and fell over and a wall of flames erupted around it. Of the citizen, a woman, tripped over some debris and fell, crying out as she did. Her two male friends turned and ran to save her, one stopped as he heard a noise in the flames. He gazed into the flickering flames and saw huge silhouettes, hearing the rhythmic clanging of metal boots against stone. The first silhouette emerged from the fire, a great armoured figure. It was covered from head to toe in black metal armour and carried a rather large broad sword and only two red lights glowed in the eye slits. This creature was called a ghost knight and was created from violent spirits that haunted battlefields. They were not actual spirits of the dead, but rather of the aggressive emotions of fallen warriors. They would bring together than inhabit the armour of the dead and roam the world in an attempt to quench their desire to kill by spilling the blood of all who crossed their path. They were easy enough to summon by a necromancer of sufficient power and to control them all they needed was to be directed towards an enemy in battle. And through the flames they continued to march. The lead knight marched forward and raised his great sword, preparing to strike the fallen woman. She turned away, closed her eyes and prepared for the end as the sword descended. The clang of metal on metal resounded and she opened her eyes and looked to see Liem, as he blocked the swords fall with his katana. He shuddered as the ghost knight used its greater height and weight to push him down, but Liem would not be moved. The woman was helped to her feet and they ran off, leaving Liem to deal with the knights alone. Liem spun out of the way of the knight and its sword came crashing into the ground. Liem slashed at the knight knocking it back and then finished it off with a side-slash to its 'neck'. The creature fell and did not get up. Liem turned to face his next foe and fond that the next ghost knight was about to cut him down as its sword was raised, poised to strike. It halted its attack as a thrown dagger lodged itself in the knight's eye socket. The creature turned to face this new attack and found its 'throat' impaled upon the blade of a naginata. The creature fell back and Maru pulled his weapon free of the knight.  
  
"My lord what are you doing..." Liem began.  
  
"Saving you I should think." Maru replied as more samurai began to engage the ghost knights. "I underestimated him... I didn't expect him to attack this soon. We have to retreat and protect the citizens, give them time to escape."  
  
"Standing retreat!" Liem called out, signalling the samurai should retreat slowly.  
  
Shax watched the destruction; with the ghost knights and the initial attacks of the necromancers, his strategy could not fail, the dragons would die this day. A flight of dragons flew towards and past them. Shax had told his soldiers to ignore them because they were mere beasts and not worth the time of his army. The Goddess had ordered the destruction of the Dragon Clan and that was their sole mission.  
  
Shax looked his army over once more before giving the orders for the attack. As he signalled, the magic attacks of the necromancers ceased and the countless griffins descended upon the city, depositing their charges in the city so they could attack. The griffins, their job done, flew back up into the sky as the soldiers continued the slaughter in the streets below. The smell of blood and burnt flesh wafted into the sky and Shax smiled at the delicious scent, which represented the will of his beloved Goddess being carried out.  
  
On the ground, at the palace gates, Liem and Maru directed the defences of the city, directing soldiers and civilians alike. The king, however, was distracted for his wife Rose had gone into the city to do what she could for the citizens and she had yet to return. Hours had come and gone since the initial assault had begun and things looked grim for the Dragon Clan. Many had escaped in dragon form, it was true, but countless more had fallen as lambs to Shax's slaughter.  
  
As smoke, fire and the scent of blood rose into the sky, Shax descended into the city. After he had dismounted his griffin it would wait patiently for his return. Shax walked the streets and looked at all the bodies that lay there, massacred by his army. Some burned still in the flames wrought by the necromancers, their flesh, blackened, curled in the fires heat, their mouths agape with unheard death screams. The ghost knights had disembowelled others; arms, legs and sometimes head strewn about, cut from the body and in the case where heads were available, their eyes were wide in death, expressions of fear and pleading frozen upon their faces. His soldiers had pierced many with arrows and many of the fallen grasped the projectiles with cold, dead hands; their last futile gesture were a useless attempt to remove the bolts from their bodies. Small rivers of blood ran through the streets, sometimes pooling beneath the bodies or in the cracks in the streets. Blood of both civilian and soldier flowed, but it mattered not to Shax; the weak died and the strong lived, that was the way the world worked. He stopped suddenly and turned; a woman cowered by her house. Shax walked over to her calmly and she continued to shiver in fear. She tried to move away, but was not fast enough as he grabbed her by her throat and lifted her off the ground. She would have begged, pleaded with him to have mercy, to let her go, but she had not the breath to speak as Shax crushed her windpipe. He dropped the woman's corpse and smiled, another dragon clansman dead by his hand. He turned as he heard an anguished cry behind him; he turned to see a farmer carrying a scythe with a look of immense sorrow and anger upon his face. The farmer must have been the woman's husband, or so Shax thought. The man charged him in rage, trying to slash him with the scythe, but Shax easily dodged each attack. As the scythe came down once more, Shax grabbed the man's wrist and twisted, breaking the man's wrist and forcing him to drop the scythe. Shax then grabbed the man by the face, lifted him off the ground and slammed his head in to the street, placing his full weight upon the man's skull. Shax could feel the man's cranium squish beneath his fingers and smiled in satisfaction as he saw blood and grey matter leak out of the back of the man's skull. The impact had been so great that the street itself was broken where the corpse lay, the blood draining into the cracks. Shax stood and heard a growling behind him. He turned to see a dragon whelp hissing at him in anger and Shax growled in irritation.  
  
"And now even the savages' pets try to attack me." He growled as he simply beheaded the whelp with his axe.  
  
The head of the whelp fell and its blood mixed with the blood of the others. Shax cleaned off his axe and walked away, heading to rejoin the front line of troops. The front lines, within sight of the castle, were shooting the fleeing citizens with arrows. Some fell, some did not and Shax frowned at the incompetence of his soldiers. He reached out and grabbed one of the soldiers' bows.  
  
"You shoot like this." He said as he knocked back an arrow, picked a target and fired.  
  
At the palace gates, overlooking the mayhem, carnage and blood spilling were Liem and Maru. Doing their best to save as many people as they could, they fought off attacks, gave orders and saved those they could, though the tide of battle was already against them. Maru desperately searched for Rose in the crowd, and at last spotted her at the edge of the crowd, trying to herd the people towards the palace.  
  
'What is she doing out here? She has our child to care for, she can't be so reckless.' Maru thought.  
  
He started to wade through the crowd, to get to her when suddenly she staggered forward. Time seemed to slow for him as he saw her, a shocked expression on her face, stumble forward and fall, an arrow protruding from her back. Maru stumbled forward and Liem grabbed him, preventing him from falling. Maru did not struggle, but seemed to slump in defeat. Liem dragged him back to the gates and once there, Maru turned to his most trusted friend.  
  
"Liem... I want you to take Ryu and leave the city." He stated flatly.  
  
"My lord?" Liem said surprised. "What about you, the queen?"  
  
"The queen is dead, we are defeated... take my son through the secret caves, you'll find them in the Rookery. Just get away... far away from the war, from fighting." Maru said.  
  
Liem hesitated, the king was his liege lord and his friend and he could not abandon him so lightly.  
  
"That is an order!" Maru growled. "Take my son away from this war... save the last of my family."  
  
Liem closed his eyes and resigned himself. He stood up and walked away from the king. Once inside the palace he spotted the midwife's apprentice and she appeared to be in shock. Liem knelt before her, clutching her shoulders. He looked straight into her eyes, hoping she was listening.  
  
"Girl, we need to get the prince to safety. Will you help me?" He asked.  
  
"S-s-s-s-she's d-d-d-dead... they killed her, chopped off her head..." She rambled in fear.  
  
"Will you help me get the prince to safety? I need you to help me." He said more forcefully, shaking her a bit.  
  
She seemed to come out of her fear, acknowledging Liem's presence. She nodded and rose and they both ran down the corridor to the king's chambers, where Ryu slept. When they entered the room, Liem told her to gather the child and the things she would need to care for him. Liem killed two soldiers, beheading them quickly, as she hurriedly gathered the sleeping Ryu and some supplies. Once she was done, they hurried to the Rookery; she attempted to keep Ryu calm and quiet as they did. Fortunately the soldiers had yet to progress so far within the palace and they encountered no resistance. Once inside, Liem searched for the secret passage while the girl sang a lullaby to Ryu to keep him from fussing. Once he found the passage they both went into the underground and prayed to the dragon god, Ladon, they would be safe.  
  
Shax stood at the gates of the palace with his two lieutenants. Many other soldiers had gone to finish off the remainder of the Dragon Clansmen remaining in the city.  
  
"What is taking so long?" Shax demanded.  
  
"We don't know, sir. As far as we know there is only one person remaining in the palace, sir." One lieutenant said.  
  
"And the men we sent in are incapable of killing one person? Fine, I'll kill him myself." Shax growled.  
  
Shax shoved the two soldiers out of his way and entered the palace. He walked to the throne room where he saw the men he sent in lying in a pool of their own blood. He looked upon the throne where sat the king. His expression was calm, cold in fact, but there were tears streaming down his face.  
  
"You don't seriously expect me to believe that the leader of a pacifist clan would kill, do you?" Shax smirked.  
  
"You'd be surprised what you can be pushed to do when you've lost everything." The King said, sheathing his sword.  
  
"Surrendering? Good, I would hate to have to waste my strength fighting a weakling." Shax sneered.  
  
Maru placed the sword above the throne and began to laugh. It was a laughter bordering on madness and Shax frowned.  
  
"Surrender? That was never an option you were going to give us... I was a fool to think you'd even wait, you only came here to confirm things you'd heard about our people." Maru laughed. "Myria never told you why she wanted us dead did she? And you never asked... heh heh ha! Not very good for a soldier, you should find out everything you can about your enemy."  
  
Maru stepped towards Shax and the latter raised his axe, prepared to strike the former down. Maru's body shuddered and convulsed and he screamed as immense bat-like wings erupted from his back. His skin darkened and hardened into scales, his muscles grew and thickened his body altered and grew. He changed into the Rudra dragon, a transformation used by the royal family alone, it was also the most powerful dragon of the Dragon Clan at that time. Shax looked at the dragon, realizing that all those dragons that had flown by him had been his targets, no matter what happened today the Dragon Clan would survive and Shax would hunt them down.  
  
"I am Shax, I am Myria's CHOSEN! I WILL NOT ALLOW SOME BEAST TO BEST ME!" He roared, charging the dragon.  
  
No one outside the palace knew what happened or how long it was until the dragon's death scream roared. They only knew that their general emerged from the palace tired and he was holding the left side of his face.  
  
"My lord, are you all right?" One soldier asked, rushing over to Shax.  
  
Shax said nothing, his face twisted in fury. Without warning, he punched the soldier and all could here the man's jaw shatter. Shax's left hand, the hand he used to cover his left eye and to hit the soldier, was drenched in his own blood. A hideous scar ran down his left eye and bled profusely.  
  
"We're leaving. We have a lot of work to do." Shax said to his soldiers.  
  
At about that time, at the base of the mountain, a rock was pushed aside and Liem and the girl with Ryu, emerged from the secret passage. Liem breathed in the air and looke towards the top of the mountain where his home once lay. Smoke rose from the top and tears filled the girl's eyes. Liem did his best to console her.  
  
"We are going to be travelling for a while. We have no rank and I would prefer it if you referred to me by name and not 'my lord'. My name is Liem, Liem dragnis. What is your name?" He asked of the girl.  
  
"My name is Elle Serpos." She said quietly, holding Ryu close to her.  
  
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"Battle doesn't need a purpose; the battle is its own purpose. You don't ask why a plague spreads or a field burns. Don't ask why I fight." (Black knight, Magic: The Gathering.)  
  
Music for this chapter: "Goddess Myria", Final Battle theme (Breath of Fire 3)  
  
1)- Each clan has a different culture a different way of thinking. As I said before, the Dragon Clan is like Feudal era Japan; the humans are like medieval Europe and the Woren are like colonization era Native Americans; to name a few.  
  
2)- As each clan has a different culture they also have languages different from others. Common is the human's language; it is a language that is easy to learn and many people know how to speak it. 


	4. Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter 3: Hidden in plain sight  
  
Historical scholars will often agree that the Dragon Clan had begun its fall from unquestioned supremacy among the races when it had split into the Light Dragon Clan and the Dark Dragon Clan. Scholars will, however, argue about when they were toppled from that position; some suggest it was when they became mere pawns of the Goddess of Desire, others say it was when their original city was destroyed and the King Killed during what was referred to as the 'All Saint's War'. Whatever the truth, one thing remained certain: the Dragons had suffered their most devastating loss of the entire war when Lon Chai fell to Myria's forces.  
  
The Light Dragon Clan, those that had escaped were broken by that loss; many hid among the humans, determined to keep to their pacifistic ways as it was all they had left, others, furious at this loss, forsook pacifism and headed to Scande, the city of the Dark Dragon Clan where they could join their brethren to fight against their enemies; the remainder of the Light Dragon Clan, it could be said, took the darkest path, by changing into their dragon forms and giving into the feral nature of that form, becoming little more than wild beasts.  
  
It was not only the dragons that had suffered for that defeat; ironically Shax had suffered as well. His body had been damaged far worse than anyone could have known. During the battle he had suffered innumerable wounds, but because of Myria's blessings, because of her magics, those wounds had healed almost as quickly as they had been caused. All save the one dealt to his eye. This wound never fully healed and would bleed on occasion, especially when one of the Dragon Clan was close. What seemed truly damaged was not his body, but his mind. In the following years, his hunt for the Dragon Clan became a mad obsession as he did everything and anything to kill dragons. He even went so far as to burn human cities, even those that worshipped Myria, to the ground. Once, when he was destroying one of the aforementioned cities, one of the soldiers under his command had the unmitigated gall to question Shax's orders. Shax simply smashed the offending soldier's skull against the city wall, breaking the soldiers cranium, killing him. It was after this incident that Shax was called before Myria.  
  
The Goddess tower; Myria's base of operations, her home, the place from which she controlled all. It lay in the north, in the Outer Ocean, guarded by the floating fortress, Agua. At the top of the tower was her throne room: the throne was surrounded by a small moat and a large, resplendent garden. The ceiling and walls were made of mirrors that reflected scenes of the world, allowing Myria to see any place, city or person in the world. Shax stepped on the final stair of the tower before the throne room, he walked, his head held high, proud to be before the Goddess. He came before her throne and prostrated himself before the throne. Great white light began to shine from the throne as the Goddess descended into the mortal plane of existence. There she stood, beautiful beyond words, she looked a youthful woman, a teenager maybe, with an ageless beauty. Blond hair cascaded down her back, upside-down white wings shook, she carried a staff atop which was an orb, a light tracing the symbol for infinity within it and her fathomless blue eyes seemed so cold as to be able to freeze all the oceans of the world; she was angry.  
  
Shax looked up to his Goddess, a look of pure bliss and absolute worship on his face. That look changed to one of surprise and pain as he was suddenly lifted off the ground by an invisible force. He grasped at invisible fingers at his neck and was thrown to the ground. He struggled to get up but an invisible force held him down.  
  
"My lady... my Goddess... what have I done to displease you?" He asked desperately.  
  
The Goddess eyes narrowed and Shax was forced down again. He struggled just to raise his head to look up at her.  
  
"I gave you power, I gave you gifts, I gave you my blessings, I made you my Guardian (1) and you have been killing MY people." She said, her tone calm but angry.  
  
"My lady..." He began desperately. "The dragons... they hid... they harboured the enemy..."  
  
"You KILLED your OWN PEOPLE!" She said raising her voice. Lighting flashed and thunder crashed, emphasising her words.  
  
Shax was flung back as he was struck by Her power, though She did not raise a hand to him. He looked up at Her, his lip bleeding. Then he screamed in agony, Her blessings and power slowly being leached out of him.  
  
"My lady... I did it for you..." He cried, reaching out to her. "All for you..."  
  
His gibbering ceased as he flopped on the ground helplessly.  
  
"You are relieved of duty, general. You will no longer command my armies." The Goddess said.  
  
"No... my lady... please... let me serve you..." He cried out in desperation.  
  
"You will be the leader of a group that will hunt down the dragons, no one else." She said.  
  
Shax let out a relieved breath as he welcomed the chance to serve his Goddess. A cloaked and robed figure entered. The figure swayed back and forth as though drunk and stood before Myria and Shax.  
  
"My son, Evans, awaits the day when his power can create a body for him; for now he inhabits the bodies of the willing, roaming the world and learning. I have removed my blessings from you so that you may be a better host for his power... do you accept, Shax?"  
  
Shax stood, weakened, but still very strong and bowed before his beloved Goddess, prepared to accept this new charge. The cloaked figure collapsed, dust and ashes seeping out from the fallen robe. White energy crackled and black lightning danced about the pile of ash and dust and the energy rose, almost resembling a living creature. The energy lanced out entering into Shax's body through every available orifice and as it did so Shax's deadeye became a ruby red colour. The energy had assimilated itself into his body, but he continued to writhe in agony as his body changed; muscles grew and it looked like his skin would burst and with a feral scream it all stopped. Shax rose, his dead ruby eye focused on Myria: he and Evans had become one person, god and mortal fused together. Evans had seeded himself into Shax and they were now inextricably linked until the host died.  
  
"Mother,"Shax said, his voice was his own, overlapped by that of Evans'. "I will serve you unto death."

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The war's path had changed after the fall of Lon Chai spreading to west and south. As the king had asked Liem was taking Ryu away from the war, so they went east, towards Winlan. Liem knew that the king would die, the opponent he had faced would be far stronger than he (2) and the grief and despair felt by the king would also prove his undoing; he had lost long before the battle had begun. Liem knew what his duty was now: protect the prince, no matter what the cost. For Elle's part, this was a fantasy come true of sorts; she, Liem and Ryu would pose as a family as they traveled. She knew all her friends would have been jealous and she truly hoped she would see them again one day. They came to Winlan (3) and were welcomed by the king himself; they had recognized they were Dragon Clan from Liem and Elle's style of dress and the Dragon Clan were ever allies of the Clan of the Wind. They were never told of Ryu's lineage, for the child's own protection.  
  
For a few years they remained using their skills, Liem's abilities as a soldier and amateur blacksmith and Elle's skills as a maid, to survive. However, that peace did not last long as Myria's army turned their eyes towards Winlan. As war came to that vaunted city, Liem and Elle left with Ryu. So to disguise themselves they wore common clothes, they appeared human and could speak common exceedingly well; therefore they would pass for humans and would be able to pass through human lands freely.  
  
They traveled further east, across the Winlan Bridge; from there they went southeast and found themselves at a village called Tuntar. However, they never lived in the village; instead they constructed a small hut just across the river from Tuntar. It was an idyllic existence for another few years until famine and plague struck the area. Elle and Ryu were infected by the plague, for even dragons are not immune to a contagion's touch. Fortunately Ryu lived, but unfortunately Elle did not. Liem was heart broken for he had come to love the woman and she had been as a mother to Ryu. But life had to continue and Liem began to teach Ryu many things, including swordplay, reading and writing in both common and Dragon tongues. Liem could not prevent Ryu from going out to Tuntar, to search for other children; Liem did his best to protect Ryu, to warn him about how he may be treated as an outsider and so Ryu thought the best place to look would be among the war orphans as they, they too, were outcasts. However, it did not work out as he had hoped.  
  
"Bugger off, sand-squint." The larger boy said as he shoved Ryu to the ground.  
  
Ryu, six years old, hit the ground hard. He was small, but strong for his age. He wore a red headband over his dragon birthmark, though Liem never told him why. His bleu hair was a bit mussed up, but he never really cared about his appearance anyways. He wore a cloth jerkin, a leather vest, trousers and boots. Compared to these orphans he was very richly dressed.  
  
"You're not welcome here sand-squint." The larger boy said.  
  
A sand-squint was a rather ugly bird with the nasty habit of putting its eggs in other birds' nests for others to raise.  
  
The larger human boy was named Kuroki; he was eight years old and rather stocky. He wore tattered leather clothes and no shoes. He had black hair and dark eyes. Given his personality he might have turned out to be a real bully, but he was the leader of this little band of four war orphans and this responsibility tempered his disposition. He was trying to protect his friends, even though it was a bit misguided.  
  
There was a forest clan orphan, named Rennard. He was unusual for a Forest Clansman as he had snow-white fur and had an appearance akin to a fox, while forest clansmen were more lupine or canine in nature. He wore simple cast-off clothing given by passers-by, due to another oddity of his: he always looked like his eyes were closed, thus people had the impression that he was blind. People took pity on him and gave him toys, money, clothes and sometimes even food because of it. In actuality he could see as well, if not better, than most other people and he took advantage of others misconceptions for the simple purpose of his own survival. He was very intelligent and logical minded for a child of seven.  
  
Hiding behind Rennard was a six year old human girl named Topaz. She was very shy, even around the other orphans. She wore a cloth robe, cinched with a leather belt. It was a little too big for her as the sleeves went past her hands. She had auburn hair and was very kind to mostly anybody who would approach her, even if she said very little. There was a strange aura about her, something no one could quite place or understand, but they knew it was there. At the moment it was hard to tell if she was afraid of Ryu, a stranger trying to approach the group or what the beating that Kuroki had just given Ryu.  
  
Last but not least, was the Woren child of four, named Lionne. Lionne was of the rarer breed of Worens. While most Worens were tiger-human hybrids, there were rare breeds, such as panther-human hybrids and lion-human hybrids. Lionne was of the latter kind, with golden brown fur, fine blond hair and golden, feline eyes. She wore tattered cloth, but clothing was really her concern as the weather was most comfortable for fur bearing folk. She was always a happy child and the folk of Tuntar appreciated her cheeriness. She was simply too cute and cuddly to get rid of. There was another reason the people of Tuntar liked her so much: whenever they had a vermin problem Lionne was happy to catch them. It was something she was very good at for a young child and she got a free meal out of catching such vermin, cockroaches and rats being very filling. She also had a short attention span, as she wasn't interested in Kuroki and Ryu's little exchange and more or less interested in a bug scuttling in front of her, which was about to become lunch.  
  
Kuroki to a step towards Ryu, determined to teach him a lesson. A shadow fell over him and Kuroki turned to see Liem standing over him. Liem now wore hunter's togs, to fit in better, however, his katana was always with him. He had earned the villagers' respect and he showed them many tricks to defend themselves from animals and armies. To Liem, they were not the enemy, even if they were human; they were people, simple farmers and hunters like the Light Dragon Clan had been. He had never taught Ryu about his draconic heritage, so Ryu never even knew he was a dragon; Liem hoped that such things like Clan wouldn't matter, he was trying to teach Ryu to see past things like that.  
  
"There are better ways to use strength than to push around those weaker oneself." Liem said.  
  
Liem had a slight accent when speaking Common; Ryu on the other hand was fluent enough in both Dragon and Common that he had no accent.  
  
"What's it matter? I do what I want." Kuroki replied.  
  
"Do you like this placed, Tuntar?" Liem asked.  
  
"Sure, it's our home." Rennard said.  
  
Behind him Topaz nodded in agreement.  
  
"Would you like to learn how to protect it?" Liem asked, helping Ryu to his feet.  
  
"Why? They don't want us." Kuroki said bitterly.  
  
"In protecting this village, they will need you, they will appreciate you. Is that not sufficient reason?"  
  
"Well... It couldn't hurt..." Rennard mused.  
  
"Wha' do we gotta do?" Kuroki asked.  
  
"I will teach you how to fight and defend yourselves and this village and you, boy, will learn. Be at the abandoned house in the southwestern part of the village tomorrow at noon break and I will begin your training." Liem said stepping on the bug that Lionne was so focused on.  
  
She looked up at Liem and uttered a little 'mya'.  
  
"Ryu lets go. We have work to finish." Liem said as he began to walk towards his cabin.  
  
"Yes sir." Ryu replied, dusting himself off and following after Liem.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"When it starts... whatever it is... it always starts small, so small that the origin almost always goes unnoticed. Almost." (Green Arrow: Quiver)  
  
Music: 'Elle's Theme' (Game: Terranigma)  
  
1)- Guardian, like Garr and his ilk. However, Shax is what you would call a prototype Guardian and is, thus, stronger faster and more powerful than Garr was. Shax is also much more... shall we say, unstable.  
  
2)- If you would like to make a RPG level comparison, Maru was at level 10 and Shax was level 60  
  
3)- Winlan has a culture like that of medieval Britain, complete with British accents.  
  
I would kindly ask all my readers to be patient and remind them that I am writing two other stories at the same time as this one as well as working during the day. And Zypher, be patient your character will appear eventually, though if you wish I could send you the profile I created of her via e-mail. In fact if anyone would like to try their hand at drawing the main 'heroes' of this story I will gladly send you the profiles I created, though I warn you: there are major spoilers in those profiles. 


	5. Child's Adventure

_Chapter 4: Child's Adventure  
_  
Mostly orphans or the homeless used the run-down building in the southwestern part of the village; they bothered no one and asked for nothing. It was large enough for Liem to begin training those orphan children away from any distractions. He taught them first, how to care for tools and weapons, teaching them respect for their tools and for their opponents. Next, he taught them weapon basics, discovering who would excel with what weapon. While he did teach them how to use as many weapons as possible, they each had natural skills and dispositions that would allow them to use one type of weapon better than others. After a year of training them in the use of weapons, he did find them knowledgeable enough to defend themselves and then had them focus on developing their skills through weapons exercises. He began to interact more with the community as opposed to his students, teaching the villagers how to fight with their farming tools and helping them hunt.  
  
Liem led a party outside the village preparing for the fall hunt; this would be their last opportunity before the cold weather would drive animals into hibernation. They were heading south to the Fae Forest and would be gone for a weak at most. Little did Liem know, he and his party were being watched.  
  
"They gone yet?" Lionne asked.  
  
"Yeah..." Rennard replied.  
  
The two left their position from within the farm's tall wheat crop at the edge of the village and headed back. They crossed the bridge over the river, which ran around and through the village, past shops and the small shrine and into the small residential area. There they found Ryu, Topaz and Kuroki waiting for them with large sacs and backpacks.  
  
"So?" Ryu asked.  
  
"He's gone and it didn't look like he was gonna turn back either." Rennard said.  
  
"Okay then. Just in case we'll take the northern exit; we don't want to run into him accidentally." Ryu said.  
  
"A-are you sure this is okay? I-I-I mean he did s-say n-not to go out of the village." Topaz said nervously.  
  
"It's okay, were aren't going that far. 'Sides, didn't you want to see the Stone Idol?" Ryu said nonchalantly.  
  
"Who died and made you boss anyways? Just 'cause your dad taught us how to use weapons an' how to fight doesn't mean you get to boss us around." Kuroki grumped.  
  
"Liem isn't my father." Ryu said indifferently.  
  
"Mya?" Lionne mewed inquisitively. "What d'you mean he's not you dad?"  
  
"Just what I said: he's not my dad. He raised me 'cause my mom and dad are dead. He told me when Elle died..."  
  
"Huh... so you're like use then." Rennard mused.  
  
"No he's not; he's a stuck up little snot who thinks he can boss us around." Kuroki retorted.  
  
"P-please stop fighting." Topaz begged.  
  
"Meh... Okay then, tent and sleeping bags?" Ryu asked.  
  
"Check!" Rennard said as he picked up a large bag containing the aforementioned items.  
  
"Food?"  
  
"Check, mya!" Lionne said, picking up another bag.  
  
"Climbing stuff, ropes and things?"  
  
"Blow it out your butt!" Kuroki said.  
  
"Ku..." Ryu said exasperatedly.  
  
"Check." Kuroki sneered in a very sarcastic fashion.  
  
"Uhhh... other stuff?" Ryu said, unsure of what to call the rest.  
  
"Ah... um... Ch-check? I think..." Topaz replied with her small pack of stuff.  
  
"Last, but not least; Weapons?"  
  
Ryu felt his short sword at his side; Liem had trained him in the use of a sword since he could hold one. A short sword was a good-sized sword for a child of eight. Lionne yawned and stretched, her daggers at her side, her natural agility and wild, and often reckless, behaviour made the close combat weapon a natural choice for her, though she often wished she had something fancier. Kuroki hefted the heavy mace, a large, strong boy, he could do considerable damage with the blunt weapon, but he always said he should have had a sword instead. Rennard had a full quiver of arrows and a bow slung on his back as well as the bag with the small tent and sleeping bags. He had an unnatural skill with projectiles. Topaz had her staff in hand; she was the only one who had not shown any real ability with a weapon and even now, the staff was not her real weapon.  
  
"All right, lets go!" Ryu said.  
  
The group snuck stealthily, stealthily for children at least, through the village. Past the houses and small shops, towards the northern exit, doing their very best to avoid being seen. Once reaching the northern exit, they ran, praying they would not be seen. They needn't have worried, for the lookouts were more concerned with the comings and goings of people of the south and the east as there was nothing of great importance in the north, save the Stone Idol. The children ran, the four orphans were making the most out of their new leather footwear that Liem had made for them. They ran next to the river, which flowed from a lake in the crescent shaped mountains to the north. The plains made it easy to run for it was very flat and there were few obstacles. There was a dirt path for travelers and the plains had trees that dotted the landscape, but there weren't any forests in the area, those lay to the west and to the south, past the volcano, Mount Zublo. Ryu and his friends came to a halt by a waterfall.  
  
"O... okay, we can rest here for the rest of the day and head out tomorrow." Ryu said, very much out of breath.  
  
It was not yet even noon, they had slowed down considerably since they had left the village, but they had maintained a relatively quick pace. Only Kuroki and Rennard didn't seem tired. They let down their packs and Kuroki and Ryu began to set up a small camp, unpacking things and making a general mess. Lionne smiled mischievously and jumped into the river, tucking herself into a ball as she was coming down.  
  
"FIIIIIISH!" She yelled just before making a big splash.  
  
Both Ryu and Topaz got soaked, but Kuroki, who stood on the opposite side of the tent they were setting up, remained dry, laughing at Ryu's misfortune passing a towel to Topaz. Topaz giggled a bit at Ryu, whose face wore a sort of apathetic-irritated expression. Rennard looked at them and smiled; he looked through the food pack and frowned.  
  
"All you brought was flatbread?" He asked.  
  
"I-it was all I could get away with bringing..." Topaz said embarrassed.  
  
"S'okay... I'll just go hunt something." Rennard said.  
  
He walked for a bit, turning to look at his friends and he marvelled at how such different people could get along. He wasn't sure what he could hunt out here; there was little to no cover for animals and most would be hiding underground, preparing to hibernate for the winter. He turned suddenly, having heard a sound; he saw a lone tree in the plain. In a single, fluid motion, he drew an arrow from his quiver, pulled back on the bowstring and let the arrow fly. It flew through the branches of the tree and struck its unsuspecting target. The bird let out a squawk and fell to the ground. The arrow was a fowling blunt, meaning the tip was a ball of metal, not a sharpened point; this would stun or even nock its target unconscious, without drawing blood. Rennard walked over to the tree and picked up the bird and sighed; it would take a lot more if they were really going to have good meals on this short trip.  
  
The sun was setting by the time Rennard returned to camp. He had a brace of chicken-sized birds hanging from his belt and was trudging forward with a wild pig slung on his back. He hadn't meant to be gone so long, but the pig had been too tempting to pass up. Due to its sheer weight, size, being almost as big as he was, and distance from the camp it had taken him quite a while to chase it down, kill it and bring it back. When he arrived at the camp sight he saw Ryu working on making a fire by rubbing two sticks together; it was not going well as the small pile of wood didn't even heat up. Kuroki watched, smirking at Ryu's pitiful efforts and Topaz seemed to want to help but was not forthcoming with any aid. As for Lionne, she was busy entertaining herself by balancing a dagger on her nose by the point of the weapon; it was a trick that had gotten her in trouble with Liem time and time again, but she seemed to enjoy and it entertained people.  
  
"You're never gonna light it." Kuroki said.  
  
"Yeah, I will!" Ryu retorted, rubbing the two sticks together faster in defiance.  
  
"Give it up and let Topaz light the fire." Kuroki smirked.  
  
"Fine!" Ryu said tossing the sticks away in disgust and anger.  
  
He stomped off to the tent, grabbing the dagger off of Lionne's nose as he walked passed her.  
  
"Nyaaaa! What's his problem? Bleh!" Lionne said, sticking her tongue in Ryu's direction.  
  
'He was probably trying to impress Topaz again.' Rennard thought.  
  
"I bring gifts!" He said aloud.  
  
"OOOOOH! Pig! Pig! Pig meat for supper!" Lionne squealed in delight.  
  
Kuroki helped Rennard settle the pig corpse on the ground as Lionne danced around it in her excitement. Topaz stood over the pile of wood and began to speak softly, her hands laid upon the wood.  
  
"_Flame small, flame bright, burn with your eternal might. Flare!_" She incanted, casting a first level fire spell.  
  
It was one of the few spells Liem could teach her, he was not a mage and therefore his general experience with magic was somewhat lacking. Topaz, however, had mastered the spells easily enough as evidenced when a fire began to burn the wood and grow into a nice campfire. Rennard began to de- feather the birds by the fish that Lionne had caught in a spot by the tent; they were on a cloth blanket to keep them from getting dirty.  
  
"How many fish did you catch?" Rennard asked.  
  
"Oh six or seven, I think." Lionned said as she helped.  
  
"How she caught 'em when she was flopping around in the water like that, I'll never know." Kuroki said.  
  
"Stupid fish were trying to swim up da waterfall." Lionne said as she took out a knife.  
  
"Hey! What do you think your doing?" Kuroki asked her, grabbing her arm.  
  
"Skinnin' da pig! Why? You want to eat da fur to?" She asked curiously.  
  
"No, but you can't do it." Kuroki argued.  
  
"Can too! I've seen people skin pigs before!" Lionne pouted.  
  
"Doesn't mean you can do it." Kroki retorted.  
  
"Hey, hey!" Rennard intervened. "Let Ku skin and cut the pig, you can go pick out a few fish for us to eat, Li."  
  
"M'kay!" Lionne said completely unconcerned.  
  
"U-um... Ku? Can you apologize to Ryu?" Topaz asked timidly.  
  
"Huh? Why should I?" Kuroki asked sourly.  
  
"W-well, you were kind of mean to him... please?"  
  
"It would be best, Ku. It'd be no fun to travel if he's in sour mood, don't cha think?" Rennard piped in.  
  
Kuroki looked at Rennard, then at Topaz, rolled his eyes and grumped 'fine' under his breath. He plodded over to the tent and looked inside. Ryu was sitting there, his back to the wall and he was cleaning his sword.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked sourly.  
  
"Uh... Look, I want to say I'm sorry, okay?" Kuroki said, though he sounded not sorry in the least.  
  
"Woohoo, you're sorry, great, now go away." Ryu said in a monotone voice.  
  
"Oh for gods sake! Look... Topaz is worried about you." He said almost in disgust.  
  
Ryu stopped and turned to look at Kuroki.  
  
"You're sorry?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah." Ku replied without any conviction what so ever.  
  
"No you're not, but it's the best I'll get." Ryu said getting up and leaving the tent to join his friends.

* * *

"Union may be strength, but it is mere blind brute strength unless wisely directed." - Samuel Butler.  
  
Music: 'Liem's Quest' (Game: Terranigma) 


	6. Childhood's End

_Chapter 5: Childhood's End_  
  
The morning was crisp and cool; even though it was autumn, this week was called Summer Breeze because of its summer-like weather. Mist cascaded off the mountainside as cold and hot air clashed and birds chirped bringing in the new day. The sunset the previous night had been a magnificent display of colours: orange, red, pink and blue coming together in a breath taking show. This morning's sunrise however was quite plain, which would lead many to say that the weather that day would be very fair. The day and weather was good enough for Ryu and his friends to continue their journey to see the Stone Idol. That day they took down their modest camp and packed away their things. Using her magic, Topaz froze the remaining pig and bird meat and packed it away in Kuroki's things. As he was the eldest, the strongest and the biggest of the group he would supposedly be the best choice to carry extra things. Ryu seemed in a far better mood than he had the previous night and it seemed that the group as a whole was in a better frame of mind.  
  
"Ready to go everybody?" Ryu asked cheerfully as they collected their things.  
  
The group fell in behind him as they climbed onto a mountain path, a supposed shortcut, which would lead them into Stone Valley and the Stone Idol. Lionne and Rennard walked side by side as always.  
  
"Weeeeeird! Ryu's acting weird, he was all moody last night and now he's all happy. Nyuuu weeeeird!" Lionne said to Rennard.  
  
"You don't know? Well I guess you are too young to understand." Rennard replied.  
  
"Nyuuuu?? You're only three years older than me (1). What do you know that I don't?" She demanded.  
  
"Okay... Well Ryu likes Topaz and he wanted to impress her last night by lighting the fire by himself. It didn't work out and when Kuroki started teasing him about it, it made things worse. Now Topaz is being very nice to him this morning and that's why he's so happy. You get it now?"  
  
"Nyuuuuuu... nope." She shrugged.  
  
Rennard sighed at Lionne; if she didn't understand on the first try she wasn't likely to make any attempt to understand, at least not now anyways. The group was nearing a bend in the mountain when they came to a sudden halt.  
  
"Hey, why'd you stop?" Kuroki asked.  
  
Ryu put a finger to his lips, a sign for them to be quiet and motioned them to come have a look around the bend. There, opposite the direction of the mountain face was a wyvern. Dragons were physically like lizards and tended to be very large, wyverns were usually only a bit larger than a full- grown horse and a more bird-like physique. It's scales were brown and quite tough, nowhere near as tough as a dragon's though. Its wings were bat-like, looking like a human hand the fingers long and stretched, connected by webbing. It had a reptilian maw with razor sharp teeth, tipped with a beak shaped bone, excellent for ripping apart prey and curling ram's horns topped its head. It also had a scorpion type tail, which would secrete lethal poison into the target of such a sting. It had not yet seen the children and mad very little movement as it crouched over something unseen. Ryu and company backed away; being very quiet so as to ensure the wyvern did not hear them or attack them.  
  
"Okay now what do we do?" Rennard asked.  
  
"We could always turn back." Lionne whispered.  
  
"It would take to long the other way, we've come too far to turn back now." Ryu stated.  
  
"Are you nuts?" Kuroki said, raising his voice only a little to keep from being heard by the wyvern. "If that thing sees us we're finished."  
  
"Then it won't see us." Ryu smiled confidently.  
  
"But wh-what if..." Topaz began.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Even if that thing does attack us we can take it." Ryu said.  
  
"He's going to get us killed..." Kuroki said under his breath.  
  
"Did you say something?" Topaz asked.  
  
"No, nothing."  
  
The group crept around the corner tiptoeing past the wyvern, being extremely careful not to make loud noises. They were nearing the other side, where safety lay, when Lionne tripped and fell. The noise wasn't much, but it was enough to cause the wyvern to look up from whatever it was doing. The great beast turned towards the children and growled. The wyvern stomped towards Lionne who was getting up, but not fast enough to get away from the creature.  
  
"Drop your stuff, grab your weapons." Ryu shouted, dropping his pack and unsheathing his sword. "Rennard, distract it!"  
  
Rennard dropped his pack and unslung his bow, knocking back an arrow with uncommon speed. Barely taking time to aim, he let the arrow fly just as the wyvern closed in on Lionne. The arrow struck just beneath the wyvern's eye and since his arrows were all fowling blunt, it would do the most damage, striking that point. The wyvern shrieked in pain, rearing its head it backed away, scratching the point where the arrow struck with the claws that were on its wingtips. It turned towards where the shot originated to find Ryu charging towards it. His short sword raked across its scales, but due to his child's strength he could do no more than scratch it. The wyvern extended on of its wings, batting Ryu away easily. He landed hard on the ground near the edge of a precipice and it seemed he was unconscious. The wyvern focused on the downed Ryu and turned to finish the boy off. Kuroki cut the beast off, smashing it in the leg with his mace. He was strong and it was a devastating blow, but not quite enough to break bones. The beast roared in agony and its stinger rose, poised to strike. It came down fast upon Kuroki, but he was saved as Lionne tackled him, bringing him and herself out of the way; the stinger impacted with the ground, sending stone shards flying, the ground stained with the poison. Rennard was still firing arrows at the wyvern, but they did no damage as they bounced harmlessly off the wyvern's tough hide and he was rapidly running out of shafts. From the other side, Topaz used her magic to fire off small balls of ice, though such meagre magics were no more than a nuisance to the wyvern. Lionne was on all fours, facing the Wyvern, fur standing on end and growling savagely as she was wont to do when faced with an opponent. The wyvern, now faced with a new target, focused its rage upon the little fur ball before it and attempted to strike Lionne with its stinger. At what seemed to be the last possible second, she leapt, clinging to the underside of the wyvern's tail. As the wyvern brought its tail up, Lionne let go, twisting in mid air, landing on the beast's head, clamping her hands over the wyvern's eyes, obscuring its vision. The beast growled and tried to pry her loose, but to no avail. The wyvern began to move erratically, shaking violently, trying to shake the little Worren girl off. The others got out of the way of the thrashing beast, except for Ryu who was only just now groggily getting up.  
  
"NYAAAAAOUUUUUUUUUUU!" Lionne squealed in pure delight.  
  
The wyvern danced about trying to nock Lionne off and in the process, disturbed the leaves, sticks and other assorted stuff that it had been hovering over prior to Ryu and company's arrival. The spot was a nest of sorts, the beast had been preparing for the winter and protecting the egg it had lain there.  
  
"I see now." Rennard said. "She was protecting her egg. She thought we were after her and her egg."  
  
The wyvern continued to thrash about and finally succeeded at throwing Lionne off, however in doing so she knocked the egg from its nest. The egg, propelled by a great force rolled quickly towards Ryu, who had just now regained his feet. Ryu was bowled over by the egg and both went over the edge of the mountain.  
  
"RYU!!!" Topaz screamed.  
  
They all rushed to the edge of the mountain, the Wyvern plodding just behind the children, far more concerned about her egg than about Ryu. They all looked over the edge to find Ryu, hanging by his legs to a sturdy and thick branch. He held the egg in his arms, it was obvious he wouldn't be able to hold on forever.  
  
"Don't just stand there, HELP ME!" Ryu yelled.  
  
"What can we do?" Kuroki demanded.  
  
"Get the rope, tie it from the middle around yourself, then tie the other two ends to Rennard and Lionne. They'll come down; you can be their anchor. Take down a blanket and I'll put the egg in it and after you've done that you can come back and get me." Ryu shouted back.  
  
"Why not just drop the egg?" Kuroki asked.  
  
"'Cause then the wyvern'll attack us again." Ryu replied. "Now hurry."  
  
Kuroki grabbed a long rope from out of his bag and tied it around himself. Lionne grabbed a blanket out of a bag and tossed one end to Rennard. Securely tied, Kuroki sat down, his weight and strength to keep the other two from falling down the mountain. Rennard and Lionne took up positions on either side of where Ryu was and began to scale down the side of the cliff. Once they reached Ryu, he gently placed the egg in the outstretched blanket. The two began to climb back up the mountain face, but did not make much progress as Kuroki slid towards the cliff. Topaz tried to hold him ack, to keep him from slipping, but to no avail.  
  
"Guys! Hurry up, I'm slipping!" Kuroki yelled.  
  
The wyvern, which had been watching them save her egg, looked back at Kuroki and then marched towards him. Kuroki looked up in fear at the beast, but she did not attack; instead she wrapped her tail delicately around him, making sure not to harm him with the stinger. Once secured, the wyvern began to pull Kuroki back form the edge, its strength easily carrying Rennard and Lionne up the cliff face. Once safe they rolled the egg back to its place in its niche against the mountain wall. They thought they were out of danger; they removed the rope from around themselves, the rest would be easy, until they heard Ryu scream.  
  
"IT'S BREAKING!" He screamed.  
  
Once more they charged to the edge and they gasped in horror as they looked down: the branch Ryu clung to had begun to break. Despite the decrease in weight, the branch had been weakened and now it would break.  
  
"W-what can we do?" Topaz asked desperately.  
  
"We gotta save him. We gotta!" Lionne said, trying to reach down to Ryu.  
  
"Get the rope!" Kuroki shouted.  
  
"No time!" Rennard said looking back to where the rope lay behind them.  
  
They heard the crack that signalled the breaking of the branch. Topaz averted her eyes, not wanting to see Ryu become a smear on the rocks below. A great wind rushed downwards and they watched in awe as the wyvern flew down towards Ryu. She flapped her wings once as she dove, passed by Ryu, then stopped and caught him in her talons and then flew gently, gracefully back up. The group stood back from the edge as the wyvern dumped him on ledge.  
  
"I don't get it... why'd it do that?" Kuroki asked confused.  
  
"Heh... heh..." Ryu breathed heavily as he got up. "Even if we were trespassing on its territory, it saw that we were willing to risk our lives to save its egg. So it helped us, I guess."  
  
"Nyuuuuuuuu... That was fun, can we do that again?" Lionne asked as they left that outcropping.  
  
"NO!" Was the resounding answer of the group.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, someone had been watching them; an old man in a dusty brown robe, carrying a weatherworn staff was watching them from above and as he stroked his white beard he smiled, just before vanishing into thin air. They walked a long ways away from the wyvern's nest, heading northeast along the mountain wall, towards the Stone Valley. There were no further incidents as most creatures had begun preparations for hibernation, left south or were already hibernating. Just as the sun began to set, they reached the edge of Stone Valley. The sun cast a golden red glow upon the Valley and they all gasped in awe of the great Stone Idol. Standing taller than the walls of the valley it stood, a sleeping guardian, its unblinking eye keeping silent watch over the land. It was said that its power could decimate mountains and cause lakes to form. And here it was in the valley, a stone robot, forever asleep.  
  
It's... it's incredible." Topaz whispered.  
  
"Something else alright..." Ryu agreed.  
  
"Myuuuuuuuuuuu..." Lionne mewed.  
  
Rennard gave a soft, amazed whistle and Kuroki just stared, admiring the great machine. The group spent the night there, admiring the Stone Idol, telling each other legends and stories they'd heard about it until they got tired and went to sleep. They got up early, waking with the sun, packed their things, took one last look at the Idol and headed home. Even though there were no incidents on the way home, it still took them three days to get back; with the two days they spent going there it was, in total, a five day trip. However, they did not make it back before Liem and his hunter group returned. The one time Dragon General stood at the gate, scowling after his little prodigies when they came in sight of the village.  
  
"They told me you had gone the moment I returned. They said they could send no one after you when they saw you leaving through the northern exit because they lacked manpower." Liem told them as he dragged them to the house the orphans lived in.  
  
Liem continued his speech saying how that now that the winter season approached, manpower for guarding would no longer be a problem. He then went on to berate them for their stupidity, immaturity and over all empty- headedness for pulling such a brainless stunt. The punishment was simple, they'd be using wooden weapons for months, no access to their metal equipment and they'd not be allowed to leave the house, except for training exercises for a month. Ryu wasn't even allowed to go home, he'd be bunking with the orphans for a while; that, however, was not much of a punishment for Ryu, he'd felt far worse before. No the true punishment, for Ryu at least, was the look of utter disappointment in Liem's eyes.  
  
Liem left them and went to the local shrine. It was not dedicated to any particular god or deity, thought the locals did direct their prayers to Myria. It was plain and small, no great decorations or anything, just a small alter with some chairs for those who could not kneel. Liem knelt before the altar and offered his prayers to Ladon, the Dragon God.  
  
"Ladon... What can I do? How can I make the boy understand how important he is without dragging him into the war? I need help, guidance... Something, anything..." He pleaded with his god.  
  
"'Tis rather reckless to use the word 'anything' when speaking with a god you know." An aged voice said from behind him.  
  
Liem turned to see an aged monk type person in a dusty brown robe and weatherworn staff in hand.  
  
"Bishop (2)... Do you have any advice for me?" Liem asked with a soft smile.  
  
"Well... you can only continue doing what you're doing, that is, raise the boy as only you can. But you cannot be around forever and there may be a time when you aren't around to tell the boy who he is. My advice is this: write a note, a letter to Ryu explaining everything and any advice you would give him. Place it in a treasure chest with things that you think he may need at such a time and then lock it so it may not be opened until such a time comes. Use this key, you would be doing me a great favour if you did." Bishop said pulling a key out of his robe pockets.  
  
Liem accepted the heavily ornate key, looking at the emblazoned character for 'King' (3) on it.  
  
"Sound advice..." Liem said.  
  
"There are other ways to help him as well." Bishop continued. "If they can grow strong they can support him in any endeavour. The girl, er... Topaz was it? She has great magical potential. Ask her if she would like to become stronger, tell her she can learn more magic at the mystic city of Wisdon. If she accepts, take her there and take this letter with you. The sealing crest on the envelope will gain you entry into the city and you should give the letter only to Lady Bleu."  
  
Bishop handed the envelope to Liem, who examined the crest upon it, the symbol of the Dragon God, Ladon.  
  
"The Mirage City of the Kairi desert... I've heard of it, know its general location..." Liem than asked the question he knew he must. "Why do you do this, Bishop? What do you hope to gain?"  
  
"Myself, nothing. But, I believe the boy has the potential to change the world." Bishop said as he left the shrine.  
  
Weeks later Liem and Topaz set out for the Magic City of Wisdon, for she had timidly and reluctantly, but willingly accepted the offer of being taught magic there.

* * *

"Little dreamt could be so cruel as waiting for the wings outspread, the jagged teeth, the burning eyes and dagger claws that pinch to nerves." (Magic: The Gathering, Azure Drake)  
  
Music: "Battle" (Game: Rudra No Hihou)  
  
1)- At this point in the story, Ryu and topaz are 8 years old, Rennard is 9, Kuroki is 10 and Lionne is 6 years old.  
  
2)- Bishop, the old sage that Maru was speaking to in the first chapter.  
  
3)- One of the Goddess Keys, the King Key. 


	7. Reunion

_Chapter 6: Reunion_

Ten years the war continued, on one side: Myria's forces, on the other the Alliance, comprising of Woren, Forest Clan, Black Dragon Clan and the remainder of the Light Clan who chose to fight. As Myria's campaign continued west, they found themselves trapped between the hammer that were the Winlan forces to the east and the anvil that were the Alliance forces to the south. Despite their advantage due to their numbers, Myria's forces could not advance to the south without risking an attack from the east; also the Alliance forces could not attack Myria's forces because they lacked the numbers to do so and the Winlan army could not make an attack because of the Nameless Clan, who were Myria's allies, to the north. As none of the world's Clans could advance and attack another it seemed a stalemate as each faction waited for another to make the first move. However, all communication and travel to and from Winlan ceased and there were stories of how the kingdom city was completely abandoned. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Myria's forces advanced upon the Alliance army, forcing them back across the Kroile Plains, where the Mole Clan and Plains Clan then took up residence. The Alliance was forced to move around the mountains of the valley of Spring, passed the city of Carmen and the Chronos Tower (1) and then through the mountain pass called the Dragon's Maw and into the Valley of Dragons where the fortress of Scande lay. It was there the Alliance army found sanctuary for now the size of Myria's army was its disadvantage; the small pass through the mountains forced them to go through it in fewer numbers, those that came out the Dragon's Maw were easy prey for the Alliance army. Myria's army was forced to retreat and regroup, but they did not go far to keep the Dragons and their allies from leaving the valley. The Woren and the Forest Clan, however, had their own ways of escaping the valley and parted ways with the Dragon Clan to strike at Myria from different points. Though it seemed like a stalemate once more, Myria was slowly winning, witling down the dragons forces with each strike. Ten years had passed and even though the majority of Myria's army remained near the Dragon's Maw, She had other means of keeping the 'peace' throughout the world.

Ryu walked into Liem's office. In ten (2) years he had matured, both physically and mentally. An upstanding youth with potential leadership abilities, though he grew up in the more peaceful part of the war-torn world he would and did fight when it was necessary. His long, sleeveless trench coat was more than a simple coat, but cloth covered chain mail and his white, sleeveless shirt and red pants had leather padding. He had grown his hair long, binding it in a ponytail and he still kept the bandanna to conceal the draconic birthmark on his forehead. The well-maintained long sword that was slung on his back ensured that he was always prepared for combat.

Liem hadn't changed much in ten years, but he had been leaving Ryu and his friends to do more patrols as he was getting on in years. He sat at his desk in the one time home for orphans of the village, reading over a report as Ryu walked in.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Ryu asked.

"Yes, I have a job for you. We were supposed to receive some footmen for the village militia, but they have yet to arrive. I need you, Rennard and Lionne to go on patrol down to the Fairy's Forest and see if anything happened."

"Why us? And for that matter, why are you going to outside sources for the militia?"

"We have to, farmers and hunters aren't sufficient to defend against a Forest Clan attack. They do have a fortress in the northern forest, if you recall. The soldiers have been trained and since this village will be their home, they'll have a reason to defend it. As for why you, well there have been rumors of bandits. If the group has been attacked or is under attack by bandits and if these bandits are associated with Bleak's Thieves Guild, you and your group will keep casualties on both sides to a minimum. We don't need trouble with the Thieves Guild."

"I understand, I'll get the others together and we'll leave right now." Ryu said, starting to leave.

"One more thing, Kuroki was already out on patrol, so I sent him word. You'll meet up with him near Mt. Zublo (3)."

Ryu hurried his pace, for if Kuroki found and attacked the bandits before Ryu, Rennard and Lionne got there, it could get very messy. Ryu supposed it came from the years Kuroki spent as a mercenary. Nobody had known what had happened to Kuroki when he left at thirteen years of age, only that he had changed greatly when they saw him again when he was eighteen.

Ryu made his way to where Lionne and Rennard waited. Rennard had endeavored to make himself more like his kinsmen as he matured, wearing hunting garb like theirs, designed to blend in with forest surroundings. His fur was still white which made him stand out all the more and even though his eyes always appeared to be closed, he was a peerless archer with uncanny eye sight; he could spot prey from much farther off than anyone else among the hunters of the village.

Lionne had not changed much either, being of a child-like nature, energetic and happy, she brightened many people's spirits. She took to wearing dear-hide shorts and vest from a dear she herself had killed and skinned and wore her golden hair in a long braid, with feathers and beads strung in; a style that was quite common among Woren women, but Lionne didn't know that.

Upon seeing Ryu approach, Lionne perked up, knowing that something was up just by looking at his stance and concerned expression. If there was something wrong it could mean they were about to have fun, of course Ryu would groan if she mentioned the word 'fun' and Rennard would remind her that her sense of 'fun' was not the same as other's definition.

"Ryu, what's up?" She asked clearly eager to be doing something.

"We've just got to do a little patrol, that's all." Ryu said sternly, trying to discourage her excitement.

"To where?" Rennard asked, unwilling to encourage or discourage Lionne's enthusiasm.

"Down to Fairy's Forest, were to check for bandits and perhaps escort a group of foot soldiers back to the village. Kuroki will meet up with us around Mt. Zublo." Ryu said, walking towards the stables, Lionne and Rennard behind him.

Lionne smiled mischievously and dashed towards the stables mounting the nearest horse. Cursing, Ryu ran after, grabbing a saddle and quickly saddling and mounting his own horse. Rennard calmly did the same, seemingly in no hurry to catch up to Lionne, knowing that while she would get a good head start, she would have to slow down so as not to exhaust her mount and they'd catch up to her eventually. And they did catch up to her about half way to the volcano, Mt. Zublo. Rennard looked out into the distance towards Mt. Zublo.

"What do you see?" Ryu asked.

"A group near Mt Zublo... might be bandits." Rennard replied.

It was indeed the bandits and they had surrounded the foot soldiers that were on their way to the village of Tuntar. The soldiers made no move to attack, for they were ordered to protect the woman they were traveling with and a break in their defensive formation would leave her vulnerable. The bandits were eager to relieve them of either their zenny or their lives and the fat thief that was their leader was about to do so when they were interrupted. They turned to see an approaching figure, Kuroki, a man six and a half feet in height with short spiky black hair. He was heavily muscled and wore heavy breastplate as well as lighter, but durable armor on his left arm. His right arm was bare save for the blue runes that covered it. The scar on his nose, the scowl expression on his face, his size and his appearance, all were designed to intimidate his opponents and these thieves became nervous.

"Hey! Beat it before we beat ya!" The fat thief snarled at the new comer.

He said nothing, but laid a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"So, ye're going to throw yer life away for a group a strangers. What a load of heroic crap. Kill 'em." The fat thief said motioning to one of the other thieves.

A thief advanced on the new comer, brandishing a knife. Kuroki drew his blade at a surprising speed. The blade was named Ogre Blade due to its size being about six feet long, it was not sharp, but it was designed with its weight and shape to part armor, flesh and bone. The runes on his arm glowed blue as he brought the sword down on the thief's head. The sword parted flesh and bone easily as it descended through the thief's cranium. It stopped at around his sternum. With a motion he wrenched the sword free, hurtling the thief corpse to the ground where his blood pooled on the ground. The stranger rested the blade tip on the ground and seemed to wait for the thieves' reaction. The thieves grew increasingly nervous and restless; many of them appeared as though they would run at any moment. The fat thief leader looked at his cohorts in fury.

"Ye goddamned cowards! He's only one man! You three, kill em!" The fat thief said pointing to three of his men.

"So eager to throw your lives away." Kuroki said as he hefted his blade into a ready position.

The three thieves began to advance reluctantly, the rest of the bandits kept their weapons trained on the soldiers, but their eyes strayed to the swordsman, the soldiers also watched with great interest. Gathering up their courage, the three charged and the runes on the swordsman's glowed blue once again. The three never made it too him as an arrow lodged itself in the first thief's arm, just below his wrist, causing him to drop his weapon; the second had an arrow lodged in his shoulder and the third had an arrow shot into his leg, just above the knee. The force of impact cause the thief to lose his balance and fall forward, which aggravated the pain cause by the wound. Ryu and Lionne approached the group and Rennard, who had fired off the three shots, hung back, prepared to fire more shots.

"Now gentlemen, there's no need to resort to violence. If you bandits would kindly remove yourselves, we'll escort our friends here and you don't need to get angry over the death of one person. I have to warn you though, if you choose to keep fighting, you'll lose." Ryu said to the fat thief.

The fat thief stared at Ryu and laughed, then suddenly charged at Ryu. Ryu drew his own long sword and blocked the blow easily.

"Ya little shit! D'ya think I'm scared of you? Three people ain't gonna make a difference." The fat thief said.

"You'd be surprised." Ryu smirked.

Chaos suddenly erupted as the soldiers pressed forward, attacking the bandits, but without breaking the defensive formation. What few thieves remained broke off to fight the rest of Ryu's group, though reluctantly. Several thieves attempted to kill Ryu as he was busy with their leader; however, several warning shots from Rennard dissuaded them.

Kuroki cut a swath through those bandits who attacked him, wielding his blade like a normal sword, though to much deadlier effect. He had killed his second opponent and was about to run a third through, when someone landed on the flat of his blade. It only took him a moment to adjust for the sudden increase in weight on his blade. Looking he saw that Lionne was balancing herself perfectly on the flat of the blade. She fought her battles with a sort of reckless abandon, as interested in how many risks she could take as she was in defeating her opponent.

"Li, get off." Kuroki growled at her.

Lionne looked back at Kuroki and giggled. The thief before them had stopped his advance mere inches before the point of Kuroki's blade and stood there transfixed by the sword.

"Sooooorrrry, Ku." She said sheepishly as she jumped off the blade, using it like a springboard.

Kuroki turned his attention to the thief before him who was still quivering in fear. Without hesitation, Kuroki ran him through.

Lionne loved fights, they were the greatest test of her abilities and she always got an adrenaline rush from testing her limits. She supposed that it might be due to some primal Woren instinct, but she didn't care really. She did back flips, somersaults and rolls all to avoid attacks by the thieves. She punched, kicked, broke arms, legs and used a variety of submission holds to render her opponents incapable of fighting without using her weapons. She found herself between several foes and she crouched low, preparing to spring into action at any second. The bandits took a step towards her and like a depressed spring let loose, she jumped, twirling like a whirlwind, katar (4) in hand causing multiple wounds to her opponents. Fortunately for them the wounds were small and light, however, they might die from the sheer number of them if they did not get them treated.

Rennard held back from the chaos of battle. He was as archer, his fire was meant to support his friends. Those that did try to attack him directly found that he was more than capable of fighting them as he perforated them with arrows. None of his shots were lethal, but they would keep them from fighting for a long time, if not hampering their combat abilities to the point where they would never be able to hold a weapon again.

From within the protective circle of they received a great deal of support as the one the soldiers protected cast spells to support Ryu's allies and attack the bandits.

Ryu was having a moderately difficult time with the fat thief, for such a large man he was remarkably fast and Ryu did not see how he could defeat him without killing him. Therefore Ryu defended, biding his time, waiting for an opening. The fat thief, though he had a great deal of endurance and agility, was beginning to slow down and tire and then he made a mistake as he leaned in a little to far, trying to cut Ryu down. Ryu took advantage of the thief's misstep, parrying the blow, twisting the sword and forcing the sword out of the thief's hands. The sudden clatter of the sword on the ground caught everyone's attention and fighting ceased as bandit and soldier alike turned to see the fat thief defeated. The fat thief stood there in indignation as Ryu held the sword up to his throat. The bandits looked at each other and, being neither particularly brave, nor particularly stupid, began to quit the field, picking up their wounded and running away as best they could.

"COME BACK HERE YA COWARDS! WE CAN STILL WIN!" The fat thief yelled after his fleeing cohorts.

"Get out of here." Ryu said lowering his sword. "You can't win."

The fat thief seemed to smolder in anger but did nothing. Ryu turned to direct his friends in the removal and burial of the bodies. Despite the amount of combat there were not that many dead, more wounded than anything, but leaving unburied bodies was just asking to be attacked by zombies.

"LOOK OUT!" A feminine voice cried out to Ryu.

Ryu reacted with lightning speed, turning around and plunging his sword into the heart of his assailant. The fat thief had tried to take him down with a sneak attack, but Ryu's sword was now buried in his neck. The fat thief slumped to the ground, sliding off the blade, quite dead.

"Dammit." Ryu cursed himself, he hadn't wanted to kill the thief and now there might be problems because of his arrogance and carelessness.

Ryu directed the soldiers to help with burial; he was going to have a word Kuroki. He cleaned the blood off his sword and then sheathed it as he approached Kuroki.

"What the hell were you thinking, taking on all those bandits at once? I know you think you're some kind of god of death with your sword, but even you couldn't have taken them all on. And another thing, you know we aren't supposed to kill bandits; if they're apart of Bleak's thieves guild and we killed them, the guild could seek retrebution on the village." Ryu said to him.

"These were pathetic bandits, they would have posed no trouble for me." Kuroki said in perfect calm. "And IF they were important enough for the guild to concern themselves with them and IF the guild does seek retribution on the village, then I will take responsibility. You wont have to concern yourself over the death of that fat thief, I'll take responsibility for that too."

"That's not what I meant. And what if they want to take it out on the village? What if your taking responsibility for it isn't enough for the guild?" Ryu demanded.

"Then I will deal with it, with or without your help." Kuroki said, turning to join the others in the burial of the bodies.

Ryu sighed in frustration. Did he really have what it took to be a leader? Kuroki acted on his own and Lionne didn't listen to him when he gave orders during battle. Rennard might have been a better choice as a leader for the group. Ryu turned to the cloaked woman who had called out to him before. Her long black cloak had golden runes on the hem, which was an obvious indicator that she was a mage, if her spell casting during battle hadn't been a more obvious clue. She also carried a staff, though it was not to help her walk, but rather as an external source for her magic and a weapon.

"Thanks for the warning before." Ryu said in a friendly tone.

The woman smiled kindly. It was a soft smile, a shy smile, but her expression was more bemused than anything.

"Do I have something on my face?" Ryu whispered to Rennard.

"Its good to see you again, Topaz. It's been far too long." Rennard said, addressing the woman.

'_I am such an idiot.'_ Ryu thought to himself for not recognizing her earlier.

* * *

"All things come with a price. The thing is, it is not always a monetary one." - Anonymous.

Music: 'Galvanized Boss" (OC Remix, Final Fantasy 7)

Author Notes: My apologies for not being able to get this to you, my readers sooner. I'd tell you what the problems were, but since I'm sure you guys don't give a rat's hind end about my life or my problems, lets just say the shit hit the fan and leave it at that.

1)- I never liked the name 'Toc Tower', I hope everyone is okay if I use the name Chronos Tower instead?

2)- From here on out Ryu and Topaz are 18 years old, Rennard is 19 years old, Lionne is 16 and Kuroki is 20. So no more complaints about how their age and for the record I was always planning to do this.

3)- That Volcano where the Stone Robot threw itself into was not called Zublo, I'm sure, but I didn't know what else to call it.

4)- Katar are punch daggers. They were the weapons used by the Assassin in Diablo 2, if you need a visual reference. I believe a character from Soul Calibur 2 also used such weapons.


End file.
